This isn't actually true. The majority of successful applicants have not started companies in the past, and the vast majority of accepted applicants have not gone through YC in the past. YC is in fact a place for learning about how to build a company, given that you already know how to build a product. You see this reflected in the fact that YC will often accept smart "hacker" types that have never run companies (or even held leadership positions at all).
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This isn't actually true. The majority of successful applicants have not started companies in the past, and the vast majority of accepted applicants have not gone through YC in the past. YC is in fact a place for learning about how to build a company, given that you already know how to build a product. You see this reflected in the fact that YC will often accept smart "hacker" types that have never run companies (or even held leadership positions at all).